Engaging his Enemy (Shattered SEALs #4) - Amy Gamet Page 0,21

I can get."

She shook her head, needing answers but not sure Ben was ready to provide them. “How did you get mixed up with these people, Ben?”

“It’s a gift, apparently. I’m an excellent judge of character.” He drank his wine, downing half the glass in one gulp, the affable front disappearing from his expression. “I fuck up everything I touch, Davina."

She, of all people, knew his history. It was true that Ben seemed decidedly unlucky, but it was equally true he was responsible for most of his own misfortune. “Did you know what they were doing was wrong?”

Ben looked at the floor. “Not at first.”

“But later, you did.”

“I suspected there was something fishy going on. How much property can one company need? But they turned around and rented most of it out. I thought the buildings were an investment. I don’t know what bajillionaires like to do with their money.”

“You wanted the commission.”

“You know what that money did for me. What it did for Wyatt.”

Davina’s cheeks flushed. “I didn’t need it that badly. Wyatt and I were doing okay.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Wyatt is my son. You know I’ve always appreciated you helping out, but I never wanted this. I never wanted you to do something illegal.”

“I didn’t know for sure.” He shook his head. “Now I’m going down for killing a federal agent.”

“Is Laney Devereaux a good lawyer?”

“She is.” He ran his finger along the rim of his glass. “I was seeing her for a while, you know. Not recently. She just got divorced from Jimmy Travers a few months back."

She didn't like where this was heading. Leave it to Ben to sleep with his lawyer. “Oh. Are you interested in her?"

"Not right now. Not with the case. But maybe…" He shrugged. "If I get off, I was thinking I might ask her out."

“That would be good. As long as you don’t do anything before that.”

Ben’s phone vibrated. “I’ve got a walk-through I need to take care of before I meet Zach’s friends from HERO Force at the hotel.”

“Okay.”

He stood. “Thanks for always listening. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She stood and hugged him close. No matter what, Ben had always been there for her, and she was grateful for his friendship. “We’re pretty good together, you and me.” He kissed her cheek and walked out the way he’d come in.

Laney Devereaux. She hadn’t seen that one coming. Good for him. He deserved somebody to love. Maybe they all did. She turned back toward the sink, startled when she saw Zach standing in the doorway, his face set in stone. “God, you scared me!”

For a long moment, he said nothing, and she wondered how long he’d been standing there. From the look on his face, it had been long enough to hear at least part of her conversation with Ben. Her cheeks grew hot as she tried to remember exactly what they said. “What’s wrong? Did you find something on the computer?”

“Nothing between you two, huh?”

She looked to the back door. “Who, Ben? Of course there isn’t.”

He crossed the kitchen and she backed up against the counter, frightened by the intensity in his stare. He was so close he was nearly touching her, those eyes moving down her face to her neck and chest, then slowly back up again. She couldn’t breathe, the beating of her heart her only movement as she was held suspended in his gaze.

His hand came up to her cheek, his thumb lightly stroking her skin before his palm settled on her jawbone, tilting her face up to receive his kiss. He tasted exactly as she remembered, his lips perfectly fitted to hers, and she opened her mouth to invite him inside.

He pressed his body to hers, his arms coming around her as her tongue melded with his, her fingers grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and dragging him closer still. The counter dug into her back as his hips pressed against her softness. She reached higher, her nails raking his scalp and earning her a moan down deep in his throat.

She felt powerful, more alive than she had in years, her body’s desire gaining momentum far too quickly. She was dry tinder, a single spark enough to send her neglected senses into a full conflagration. She longed to hop onto the counter and have him right here, might have done it if they had been alone.

“Tell me you don’t care for him,” he ground out against her mouth, his words slowly dissolving the spell that